Son of Kronos: The Lightning Thief
by austinjak0
Summary: A fathers return to his child sets of a chain of events that will decide the fate of two universes, the lives of billions of people, and the future of a family. Can a young man save our world and his own? Rated M for violence, some language, and future lemons. Pairings have not been decided. Power/Smart Naruto with a slowish buildup. Enjoy!
1. Ch:1 A Brave New World

**Hey everyone. Long time no see! Sorry about waiting so long to get this started, but I had a long and rather enjoyable summer. Now that it's over though, I find myself with more time to write; hence I can restart this story.**

**For those of you just now starting this story (as I imagine most of you are), this story is going to be a better written version of one of my other stories, Naruto: Son of the gods. That story became too… cracky for me, and I really overpowered Naruto, which I began regretting almost immediately. **

**For those of you joining me again, first off thanks for giving me a second chance, and secondly I have a beta starting off on this one, so it should be much better. **

**Now then, this is going to be a more serious Naruto story (though he'll still be an idiot sometimes). If you're not looking for that..ce le vie. **

**Also, not sure on pairings yet. If I decide on one, I'll allude to it in this book. Too early for a relationship I say. Not sure if they'll be Naruto characters or Olympian characters either.**

**And now on with the show!**

**Big thank you to Ex-cellent for betaing!**

_**I do not own Naruto or Percy Jackson. Those rights belong to Kishimoto and Riordan respectively.**_

**NARUTO: SON OF KRONOS**

**CH.1**

**A Brave New World**

Naruto Uzumaki. Troublemaker, prankster, self proclaimed future Hokage of Konoha, and demon child to the rest of the village. At nine years old, he was rather short for his age, and his diet didn't really help. The only place he ever really went was Ichiraku's ramen, in part because he could afford it, and in part because ramen was the greatest food in the world. Well, in his opinion. He got a discount from the runner of the place, Teuchi, because he was their best customer. Anyone that went with him though had to pay the full price, as Hiruzen Sarutobi had found out many a time. As leader of the village hidden in the leaves though, he could afford it.

Tonight however was surprisingly taxing on the old man's wallet. Naruto had just finished his 22 bowl, a new record for the blond, and he'd just spent his last ryo, making old man Teuchi dance with joy as they walked out.

"Ahh…that really hits the spot! Thanks old man!"

Hiruzen chukled quietly. Say what you will about Naruto, but he certainly had an appetite for ramen.

"No problem at all Naruto-kun. So how was your first week at the academy?"

Naruto frowned, "It was alright…I guess. I'm in class with a few other kids I know, so that's cool…but the teacher doesn't really like me that much."

Hiruzen frowned ever so slightly. "What makes you think that Naruto?"

"Well, every time I try to answer a question, he ignores me and looks for someone else to answer it…" he grinned mischievously, "but I don't think he'll be able to ignore me after tomorrow…"

The old man sighed. "Naruto, pranking your teacher is definitely not a way to get on his good side."

Naruto gave a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his head. "Well ya got me Jiji! Maybe I should just start wearing bright colors to get him to notice me…"

Hiruzen groaned. Naruto's pranks were bad enough, but the thought of him wearing a neon orange jumpsuit or the like was just downright disturbing. Almost as disturbing as Guy's jumpsuit. He really needed to make sure that the two never met.

"Well Naruto, do whatever you think is best. Now don't you have to be getting to bed soon? Tomorrow is a school day, right?"

"Man…" Naruto pouted, "Why'd you have to remind me of that 'ttebayo? Why do I have to go to school anyways?"

Hiruzen smirked "Well, you do want to take the hat from me, right?"

"You'd better believe it 'ttebayo!" Naruto said with the biggest grin he could muster.

"Then you have to become a ninja. And to become a ninja you have to…?"

"Graduate from the academy. I've heard it all before jiji. But still, why can't I just learn from you? You're called the 'professor' right? You'd probably be a better teacher then the one I have now…"

Hiruzen chuckled as they arrived at Naruto's apartment. "Maybe so Naruto, but that's against the rules. Now go and get some sleep. And no pranking your teacher tomorrow."

"Aw Jiji, you're no fun…" Naruto said with a pout as he unlocked his door. "See ya tomorrow Jiji!"

"Good night Naruto." Hiruzen said as he closed the door as he left. Taking a look around, he started walking back to the Hokage tower.

"_I should probably have a talk with Naruto's teacher. I'm not sure what good it would do, but it might at least give Naruto a chance. On a lighter note, I should probably tell ANBU to be on the lookout for one of Naruto's pranks. He won't prank his teacher, but I don't think that'll stop him from pranking someone tomorrow…"_

He continued his musings all the way to the Hokage tower. He had another hour of 'official' office work left before he went home, and he intended to make the most of it.

Reaching his office, he sat down in his recliner, lit his pipe and, after making sure that no one was looking, activated a seal on his chair that produced a signed copy of Iccha Iccha: Makeout Tactics.

Having only just opened the book, it was rather disappointing and surprising when his office was illuminated by a bright flash. Immediately springing into action, the aged Hokage threw a Kunai toward the disturbance, only for it to be deflected by…something. Bringing his hands together and stringing together a set of hand signs, he prepares to launch his next attack, only to be stopped by a voice from inside the light.

"Is that any way to greet your successor, Hiruzen?"

Stepping out of the light was the spitting image of the fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. If Sarutobi was surprised though, he certainly didn't show it.

"Minato Namikaze is dead, so if you're trying to play the 'I look like the Hokage card', it's not really working."

'Minato' chuckled. "I assure you, Hiruzen, that I am dead. Or at least my body in this world is. Although I find it rather ironic that I was a master of time/space ninjutsu in this life, considering my other life…"

"What do you mean by 'your other life'?"

"I mean the life that I had before this one…and the one that I still have…it's kinda hard to explain…" Minato said scratching the back of his head.

Hiruzen gave confused look toward 'Minato'. If he were to be completely honest, he was completely baffled by this conversation. Either this guy really was Minato, and he'd somehow come back from the dead, or he was some insane guy pretending to be Minato that had managed to evade detection by the chakra sensor team, avoid the ANBU outside, and managed to magically appear in his office.

It was more likely that he'd come back from the dead.

"I'm going to need more then that if I am to believe you 'Minato'…" The old Hokage said, still holding his hands in the final seal of his Jutsu.

'Minato' sighed, "Alright, my name is…was rather, Minato Namikaze. I was an orphan born in the midst of the second Great War. I graduated top of my class, and was assigned to Jiraiya-sensei's Genin team. I was promoted to Jonin just before the third Great War, and was given a Genin team consisting of Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, and Rin Nohara. Kakashi was promoted to Jonin just before we lost Obito on a mission, and Rin went M.I.A a year later, but the truth is that Kakashi was forced to kill her. I was given the rank of Hokage after the war ended, but was only in office for four years. My wife's name was Kushina Uzumaki, former Jinchuriki of Kyuubi…."

"And if that isn't enough for you, on my coronation day I walked in on you and Biwako about to…"

Hiruzen blushed a bright pink. He'd pretty much forgotten about that, and considering it was one of the most embarrassing moments in his life, that was saying something.

"Alright, alright, I get it…" the old Hokage said, finally dropping his hands to his sides, "You're Minato. But what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be…well…dead?"

Minato sighed, "Again, I am dead. Here. In this plane of existence. But in the one I'm originally from, I'm a bit of a…deity…"

Hiruzen just shook his head and light his pipe. "Of course you are. So what, then, was a deity doing here in the first place? And again I have to ask, what are you doing here?"

Minato scratched the back of his head nervously, "Well you see…I'm kinda in jail back in my universe. It's a very long story that I really don't feel like going into, but my mother manipulated me to castrate my father and eat my kids…"

The old man just raised an eyebrow, "Well…I'll say that's the most interesting reason I've heard of for someone being in jail. But you still haven't answered my first question."

Minato chuckled a little, "I thought that'd be obvious. I'm here for my son."

Hiruzen was a little taken aback, "Minato, you and I both know that I can't allow that to happen. He's too valuable to the village. If the other ninja villages found out that we lost our Jinchuriki, we'd be attacked at a near continuous rate. Not to mention the power play that Danzo would make…"

"You're talking as if you have a choice in the matter Hiruzen. Rest assured though, I have no intention of leaving the village defenseless. Is Jiraiya-sensei still in charge of the spy network?"

"Yes, he is. When he's not writing his books. Why?"

Minato smiled, "Well, I was thinking that I could make a blood clone of Naruto and lace it with a small amount of the Kyuubi's chakra. That way, the clone would be permanent up until the point that it dies or the real Naruto returns. We could send him away with Jiraiya for training, and no one would be the wiser."

Hiruzen sat down and thought about it for a while. "Alright, I guess that'll work. Two problems though. When the clone dispels, it would probably knock the real one out for a week to process all the information. And secondly I'd rather not send Naruto to Jiraiya. He'd be a good teacher, sure, but he needs a team dynamic if he's going to succeed in this world."

Minato thought about that for a moment. "Well, I think the first problem is just a risk we'll have to take. So what do you propose for his training then?"

"Let him carry out his term at the academy. He'll be able to make friends, and be assigned to a Genin team when he's ready to graduate. He won't be as powerful, but he won't be able to achieve his dream if he doesn't get that dynamic…"

"Oh? And what is his dream then?"

Hiruzen chuckled, "Why, to be Hokage of course."

Minato beamed. Of course he'd want to be Hokage. He was his son after all.

"One last question though Minato. When will Naruto be able to come back?"

Minato's look quickly turned solemn, "I honestly have no idea. I would guess that he'll be able to make the journey without assistance by his 13th birthday, but without my father's blessing it's nigh impossible."

"Is this the same father that you castrated at the behest of your mother?"

"One and the same."

"Well…let's have faith that Naruto will be able to turn him to his side. He has a way with people like that…"

"I'm sorry to cut this short Hiruzen, but the dimension gap will only be open for another few minutes. Can we go and get my son?"

Hiruzen smiled sheepishly, "Well excuse an old man for worrying about his adoptive grandson. But we probably should hurry."

With that the two men jumped out of the Hokage tower, headed toward Naruto's apartment.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX**

*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*

Naruto sat up groggily and quickly slammed his hand into the alarm clock.

"Ugh. Stupid alarm clock. Why did you have to wake me up? I was having such a beautiful dream about ramen 'ttebayo…"

Climbing out of bed and yawning, he failed to notice the change in scenery. His room was cleaner then he'd left it, and it now had a white metal box by the window. Wandering over to the kitchen, he also failed to notice that the bathroom had been moved from the right side to the left.

Opening his cabinet, he grabbed at where he'd left his cereal box, only to find that it wasn't there. Opening his eyes, he saw that there was nothing in there at all.

"Huh? Whats goin on? Did someone steal my ramen?"

Turning around he noticed that his kitchen looked completely different, and that there was some really expensive stuff in the room.

"Seriously Jiji, this isn't funny. Change my room back to the way it was…"

Nothing happened. Naruto looked around frantically, before his eyes settled on three scrolls on his dresser.

"Haha! I knew they were pranking me! Last time Jiji did this, he left me a map to my things by accident. I didn't find out about it until later, but you can't fool me again Jiji!"

Grabbing the closest scroll, he opened it and began to read,

_Dear Naruto_

_I'm guessing that if you've found this letter, it means that your father has indeed taken you back to his world, and that your blood clone is remaining in Konoha. I would tell you a bit about your father, but I'd imagine that he'd rather do that himself. Yes, I knew your father, and your mother. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you about them, but they had many enemies that would seek you dead if they knew you lived. Both of your parents died protecting you from the nine-tailed foxes attack. Unfortunately they also had no choice but to seal the fox into you in order to save the village. I couldn't tell you about that either. I couldn't risk you falling to the foxes influence, or telling people what you contained. I wanted you to lead as normal a life as you possibly could. To that end, I enacted a law that forbade people from speaking about the fox to the younger generation in the hopes that you would be able to make friends. I realize now that that may have done more harm than good. Children your age didn't like you because their parents told them to stay away, and some of the elders of the village saw you as the fox reincarnate._

_But this new world you're going to…it will allow you to get a fresh start. To that end, I have included several scrolls on chakra manipulation and Jutsu. The only way you can get the advanced scrolls though is by demonstrating that you can complete the technique of chakra manipulation required for the jutsu on a seal at the bottom left corner of each scroll. I hope that I can see you again one day Naruto-kun, but more importantly, I hope you can forgive this old man and his foolishness._

_With Love_

_Your Jiji, Sandime Hokage_

_P.S: No school today!_

At the end of the letter, Naruto was crying. He could understand the old man wanting to protect him, but keeping him in the dark about all of this was just too much. Still, he was right. If he was in a new world, then this was his chance to turn it all around. Sniffing, he looked at the bottom left corner of the scroll, and, true to form, there was a small seal. Underneath it, there were the words 'Put drop of blood on seal to activate'.

Naruto pricked his finger and put it on the seal. Sure enough, a scroll labeled 'CHAKRA FOR BEGINNERS' popped into his lap. Smiling and giving a silent thank you to the old man, he set both scrolls aside and picked up the next closest one.

_Hey Kiddo!_

_Nice to finally meet ya! Well, I met you…you were asleep. Anyways, my name is Minato Namikaze, better known as the yellow flash, or the Yondaime Hokage, but you can just call me dad…_

Naruto's eyes threatened to come out of their sockets.

"My dad is the Yondaime Hokage?! SUGOI!"

After doing a little victory dance, he settled back down and continued reading,

_Your mother's name was Kushina Uzumaki. She had the most vibrant red hair that I'd ever seen. Have no doubt that we both loved you very much. We both died in that universe after Kyuubi was released from your mothers seal just after your mother gave birth to you. A man in a mask came and attacked us, using you as bait for me so that he could grab your mother and release Kyuubi. I'm sorry that I had to seal the fuzzball into you, but there was no alternative. I was sent back to my universe when I died…I'm not sure what happened to your mother. I wish I could have been there for you, or that I could be now. But I can't. It's too dangerous for us both._

_My real name though is Kronos. I am a deity in this universe, and I have many enemies. I'm trusting you to keep this a secret. You have a great power that you will have to train to unleash. But there is only one place that you can do this. You'll know where to go when the time comes._

_One more thing; the scroll next to this one contains the money and clothes of this world. You'll also have to learn the language of the area. It's called English. Your apartment is in New York City. I wouldn't suggest going out until you've learned the language at least a little. You can use the computer (it's the thing with the apple on it) to look up tutoring sites on the internet. I would recommend a language school for you though. Try looking for an English language school for those of Japanese descent. I also expect you to attend regular school. Pay particular attention to Greek mythology and history classes. And if you can, learn something about diplomacy. You do want to be Hokage someday, right?_

_Lastly, know that I love you, and that I have faith in you. You will make me proud someday, I just know it._

_Your father, Kronos/Minato Namikaze_

_P.S: Be nice to Alex! He'll be taking care of you for the time being!_

Naruto put down the letter, trembling ever so slightly. The thought that he had a family that loved him, and that had faith in him, was a shocking concept.

"_My father…he believes in me…"_

"I won't let you down dad! I promise 'ttebayo!" Then realization struck him, "Wait a minute, who's alex?"

A tall man in a suit appeared out of thin air and said, "You called sir?"

Naruto made a gaping fish face before squeaking out 'ghost' and fainting.

"I see. I shall come back later when you are right of mind. Good morning sir."

With that, the man disappeared again, leaving Naruto passed out on the couch muttering something about ghosts.

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**Annddd that's a wrap! Hope you enjoyed the beginning of Naruto: Son of Kronos!**

**By the way, I'm looking for an artist to do my coverwork. Anyone that's up for it, or can suggest someone, I'd be grateful!**

**Ciao for now!**


	2. Ch:2 First Day of School

**Good morning, evening, or night, and welcome to the next installment of Naruto: Son of Kronos!**

**First off I'd like to give a big shout out to all those who joined me for the first chapter! 100+ favorites and follows don't sound too shabby to me! Especially for my first chapter! Thank you!**

**Also, sorry for the late update. I was sick when I started writing this, and I rewrote a lot of my original idea. Then we started having a hundred year flood, and I got busy with that. From here on though I will do my best to update on a weekly basis, if not more often then that.**

**By the way, Kronos is different than Chronos. Kronos is king of the titans and Chronos is deity of time. Chronos will appear later in the story, along with the rest of the divines and deities, but not just yet!**

**Also, I'm still looking for someone to do cover art!**

**But I doubt that you all came here for my blabbering, right? So on with the show!**

**I own nothing mentioned in this story but the story itself.**

**Shout out to my beta ex-cellent for putting up with me.**

**NARUTO: SON OF KRONOS**

CH: 2

First day of school

It was a warm September morning in New York City. The birds were chirping, the Sun was shining, and people were out traversing the streets. And Naruto was having none of it. Not that he was lazy or anything, he just really wanted to stay in bed. That is until Alex came into the room.

"Good morning sir…how was your sleep?" Getting no reply, the suited man sighed and took a deep breath, "WAKE UP NARUTO!"

"GAH! What the hell Alex?! Can't you wake me up like a normal person 'ttebayo?!"

"I'm afraid I've tried that and gotten no response from you more than once. And mind your language young man…"

Naruto sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Well can't you just ring a bell or something to wake me up?"

Alex gave a crooked smile, "Were would the fun be in that? Although waking you up with a gong might be interesting…"

"…Just forget I said anything…"

Alex smirked, "Of course sir. In the meantime, I have prepared your breakfast. Also, I was to remind you that today is your first day of school. We have plenty of time though. Your school doesn't start until 11 today."

Naruto looked at the clock, which read 7:30. " Wah … why'd you wake me up then?!"

"Simply because I felt like it sir. I also took the liberty of signing you up in a Brazilian Jiu jitsu class that starts after your school, and we still have your ninjutsu tutoring on the weekends."

Naruto paled, "What?! Why? Those guys are huge! And have you seen how they throw people?! They'll kill me!"

Alex just smiled, "Maybe they will."

Naruto growled, "You know I'd prank you if I could."

"And you know that you'd be cleaning the house for a week if you did."

"…I really hate you sometimes, you know that?"

Alex turned around and said over his shoulder, "I suppose I have the intended effect then. Good morning sir."

Naruto just grumbled, got out of bed, and jumped in the shower. It'd been about a year since he'd arrived in this world, and if he were to be honest, he still didn't know half the things he should about this world. The now 10 year old stood a little over four feet, the average height for kids his age. It was amazing what a good diet did for him, though he still had ramen every once and a while. Originally he'd protested to having anything but ramen, but Alex was a surprisingly good cook.

He really didn't know what to think of the man though. The guy was nice enough, and kinda funny, but he was kinda creepy. He was always wearing a black suit with a red handkerchief, and a pair of black aviators. It was almost like Alex was a secret service agent from one of the American movies Naruto had seen in Japanese. Plus there was that disappearing act he'd pulled on the day they'd met. He hadn't done it since, and when Naruto asked about it, he would just wiggle his eyebrows and say 'a magician doesn't reveal his secrets'. That just made him even more interesting to the blond.

Still, he was a pretty good guy. While Naruto was attending English language school, Alex would always help him if there was a letter he couldn't write, or a word he didn't understand. He still didn't understand some conjugations, or some of the words that sounded the same but had different meanings, but his English had been deemed as passable by his instructor, and he was free to attend public school for those of Japanese descent.

When he wasn't learning the language though, he was learning chakra control. Or at least he was attempting to. The first exercise he was supposed to do was balance a leaf on his forehead using his chakra, but every time he would attempt to do it, the leaf would disintegrate. Not blow off or catch on fire as the scroll said it would if too much chakra was applied, but literally stop existing. It took him about two months, but eventually he thought it might be easier to channel the chakra to more than one leaf then to just the one. Soon enough, he managed to prevent the leaves from leaving…but only after he made himself a laurel after basically connecting something like to twenty leaves together. Alex wouldn't let him live it down for a month, saying 'hail Caesar!' whenever he could.

Then came the real challenge; channeling the correct amount of chakra into the seal that contained the next lesson. He would have to do with his hands what he had done on his head. Naruto began by placing a bunch of leaves on his fingers and slowly began taking leaves away from the stack on each finger. By the time he was able to produce the correct amount of chakra on each finger to unlock the next exercise, the stack had dwindled down to five leaves on each finger tip. Despite that fact that it took him half a year, Naruto felt that the reward was well worth it, though he was a little miffed when his new scroll dint have any new jutsu.

The exercise he was working on now was to levitate a leaf just above each finger and spin it without it falling off. He was having trouble keeping them above his fingers. Like the first exercise, they'd always disintegrate when he tried to apply the correct amount of chakra. He figured he'd have to do some thinking on that and come up with a way around it like he did with the balancing exercise. There was an easier exercise that the scroll suggested, but Naruto was determined not to give up on the harder one until he had no other choice.

Alex had also been teaching him various aspects of ninjutsu. Not chakra based ninjutsu, but rather the arts of the ninja of this world. There were three categories that they were working on; Taijutsu, which was unarmed combat, Bojutsu which was staff based combat, and Kenjutsu, which was the art of sword combat. Alex still didn't trust Naruto with a real sword though, so they used wooden swords instead. At one point Naruto had remarked that it was more likely that they were just extending their Bojustu practice, which Alex had just smiled at and said 'maybe we are'. It was pretty evident that they weren't though at this point, as the style was different and focused on more deadly strikes then Bojutsu, which focused on crippling blows and disabling opponents.

All in all, Naruto preferred Bojutsu. He knew that if he ever got back to his world, he would be required to kill his opponents or targets on occasion, as it was the life of a ninja. Still, if it was possible for him to simply disable his opponents instead of killing them, he would do it in a heartbeat, which was why the blond was so interested in Bojutsu. The other part of it was the fact that the third Hokage was a Bojutsu user, and he wanted to emulate his grandfather figure in some way.

Stepping out of the shower, he quickly dried his hair and got changed. His sense of style hadn't changed much since he was brought to this world, though the shirts he wore no longer bore the Konoha symbol. He was wearing a black T-Shirt with eagles facing either shoulder and loose jeans with blue sneakers.

Finding himself suitable, he moved into the next room and plopped himself in front of the T.V. Most of the channels he had were in English, so he didn't understand most of what was said. Still, he found a way to make a challenge out of it, deciding to try and understand as much of what was said as possible.

_"Earlier today the Swiss federal council made the decision to join the United Nations. This decision came as a surprise to many, as Switzerland has been a traditionally neutral country in past years. UN officials say they hope this will only be an example of peace in these turbulent times. In national news, officials say that repairs on the pentagon will be completed tomorrow, just in time for the president's speech. Tomorrow also marks the one year anniversary of the terror attacks that claimed so many lives on September 11, 2001. New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York Governor George Pataki intend to make speeches at ground zero in commemoration of the event…"_

"Alex! Why is the T.V stuck on the news this early in the morning?"

"Why are you up so early?"

"Because you woke me up baka!"

"My mistake sir, however you will be waking up at this time from now on, or else you'll be late for school. Perhaps after breakfast you should spend some time looking over your English book?"

Naruto sighed, "Man….why do I have to go to school dattebayo? And what's for breakfast? "

"Waffles smothered in syrup with a side of strawberries sir, but seeing as how you don't want to go to school…"

Naruto was barely able to prevent a bit of drool from coming out of his mouth, "Fine fine, I'll go to school…Hurry up though! I'm hungry!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX**

After having an amazingly good breakfast, going over some English vocabulary, and doing a little morning workout that the old man's scroll had suggested that the blond do to stay in shape for training, Naruto and Alex left the apartment to go on a meander. The neighborhood was pretty quiet for New York, especially considering that it was in-between 7th Av. and the Hudson River highway. During the summer Alex would take Naruto down to the piers, sometimes to go play at the arcade, sometimes to go see a movie on the pier, and other times just to relax.

The closest pier to them had a little park running the length of it. Some days there would be school groups out on it, but most of the time there were just beach goers that were too lazy to go to the beach, or some people practicing yoga. Naruto had originally been interested in what they'd been doing, but after Alex told him that yoga required one to be quiet and flexible, the blond had dropped the issue.

It was this pier that they had made their way to. Alex was sitting in one of the benches facing the water, smoking a cigarette he kept in his pocket behind his handkerchief, while Naruto was trying to climb to the top of the railing that separated the pier from the river.

After managing to get to the top, he started looking for the statue of liberty. Alex had told the blond many a time that the statue was visible from the pier, but Naruto had yet to find it. After failing once more, he sighed and faced the water.

"Ne, Alex-san…why is the statue so hard to find?"

Alex, who had just finished his cigarette and was stamping it out, turned to the blond.

"Well, maybe you're just too short to see it still. You'll be able to find it in a few years…"

Naruto pouted, "But I want to see it now…"

Alex smiled, "Well, if you want I can boost you on my shoulders, and you can see it that way…"

Naruto smiled brightly, "Yes please!"

Alex sauntered over, picked up the blond, and put him on his shoulders.

"Mou…Alex-san…I still can't see it…."

Alex sighed and shifted his weight a little, "See that island over there Naruto-kun? That's the statue of liberty. The brownish one in front of it is Ellis island."

"Hey! Yeah! I can see it now! Thanks Alex!"

"No problem sir. Unfortunately we should get going. Otherwise you may be late for your first day of school…"

Looking across the water at the ferry dock clock tower, Naruto could just barely make out that it was 10:15.

"Aww…can't we stay a little longer?"

"Sorry sir, but we cannot. Your school is about 30 minutes away and I for one think that you should get there early and introduce yourself."

"Aww man!"

As they turned back to the path that led to the pier, Naruto looked a little more solemn than usual.

"Hey Alex?"

"Yes sir?"

"Why are some things so hard to find?"

Alex smiled, "Well, it may be because you're still a shrimp…but I don't think you're talking about the statue anymore."

Naruto shook his head, "No…I'm actually talking about my family. I mean, I get so close to having one for the first time, and then my father just ups and leaves me? I mean you're great and all, but…"

"But I don't make up for your mother and father, do I?"

"That wasn't what I meant…"

"No, I understand completely. You're feeling like they abandoned you, and that you're stuck with me right?"

"No…I mean I know that they love me and all, and you're really good at taking care of me…it's just that I always imagined that my dad would see me off on my first day at the academy…and that my mom would scold me when I got bad grades or pranked one of my teachers. I never had that, you know? I always assumed that I was gonna be an orphan…someone that the old man cared about. And then I end up here, and find out that my father is still alive but he can't be with me, and I'm stuck with you…"

Alex sighed, "You know, I actually chose to take care of you. I mean, I owe your father, and that played a part in it, but I was never really a part of my kid's lives. I wanted that chance, and your father wasn't able to take care of you himself, so here I am."

Naruto was quiet for a moment, "So why do you call me sir, then? Why not just Naruto or Naruto-kun?"

Alex chuckled, "Well, belive it or not, I used to serve your father. I just got in the habit of calling him sir, despite the fact that I'm his brother. I guess that carried over to you…"

"Wait wait wait, back up a bit…you're my uncle?"

Alex scratched the back of his head, "Well, I am your fathers brother…so…yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me before!?"

"Well namely because you didn't ask…" Naruto almost faceplanted at that, "but in all honesty I'm not sure how much longer I can take care of you…"

"What do you mean by that?"

Alex sighed, "Well, people like me and your father…we're able to use a type of…jutsu, for lack of a better explanation, that allows us to live the lives of others. Just as your father was Minato Namikaze, I am Alex. Neither of those forms or names are our true ones though."

Naruto was pretty confused by this point, as was evident by the look on his face.

"So what is your 'true form' then? And what's your real name?"

Alex sighed and took off his sunglasses, revealing his bright blue eyes to Naruto for the first time.

"My true form is something I hope you never have to see, and my name is something I cannot tell you while I am in this form. Names have power in this world, far beyond what you know. The only reason you know your fathers true name is because he isn't as powerful as he once was. His power lies dormant, as does mine. But soon we will be unwillingly woken, and I will no longer be able to remain here."

Alex put his sunglasses back on and continued walking down the street, with Naruto following close behind. After a few minutes of silence Naruto ran up in front of Alex and stopped him.

"So for the time that you're here, does that mean I can call you Ojisan? Please?"

Alex sighed, "Yeah, you can call me Ojisan. Now come on, we don't want to be late for your fist day of class, shrimp."

Naruto jumped with a 'Yatta!' then realized exactly what his uncle had said. "Hey, I'm not a shrimp!"

Of course Alex had already walked on ahead and couldn't hear Naruto's protests, so Naruto had to run just to catch up to him.

**Annddd that's a wrap!**

**Yes yes, I know, it's a boring chapter. It is necessary though, as you'll find out soon enough. I also realize it's rather short. My goal is quality over quantity though with this book, but after the next chapter the chapter length should be longer.**

**Also, you should review. I'm not a review hog like some other authors, but I like them as a gauge for how I'm doing. If you like something, say as much. If you don't like something, tell me why. I can't make pots without clay!**

**Anyways, keep reading and reviewing! Ciao!**


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